Contents

Overview

Two types of Tithe's are demanded of Imperial worlds. The first is a military tithe which translates into 1/10th of a planet's PDF being gathered as new recruits for the Imperial Guard.[4] The second, known as Exacta, includes all other types of resources or wealth. Collection of the first type of Tithe is overseen by the Departmento Munitorum while collection of the second is overseen by the Departmento Exacta. Tithe's are physically collected by Administratum authorities which periodically arrive on the subject world. The frequency of visits varies world to world, but in at least one case the Departmento Munitorum visited a planet nine times in a year, demanding new Imperial Guard conscripts each time.[5]

The size of the tithe depends on the type of world to which it is applied. A tithe can be any form of material: food, weapons, minerals, people, etc. Despite the number of agencies tracking tithes, the sheer size of the Imperium and the difficulty of Warp travel makes the time-consuming process of tithe collection excessively confusing and inefficient.[2]

It is the duty of Planetary Governors to ensure the tithe of their world is paid, and any world that fails to pay its tithe meets with vicious reprisal from the Adeptus Terra. At the slightest breach of protocol, Imperial officials will often order the Adeptus Arbites to immediately execute the Governor. However, as long as the planetary ruler dutifully pays his world's tithe, he may rule the planet in almost any way he sees fit.[2]